Hummingbird, 2012, giclée ink on paper, edition 8/20. SFU Art Collection. Gift of the Salish Weave Collection of George and Christiane Smyth, 2022. Photo: Janet Dwyer
Sunbird, 2012, giclée ink on paper, edition 6/20. SFU Art Collection. Gift of the Salish Weave Collection of George and Christiane Smyth, 2022. Photo: Janet Dwyer
Emerging Coast Salish artist Sage Paul has been practicing since 2008. Under the tutelage of her father Chris Paul, she experiments with traditional Coast Salish design elements and utilizes the circular design of the spindle whorl to situate her compositions. Hummingbird features a symmetrical design of two hummingbirds feeding on flowers. Paul uses a contemporary colour scheme of dark blue, light blue, lavender, salmon pink, red, and burgundy to add her own mark on the traditional Coast Salish style. Paul’s Sunbird features a yellow pigeon-like bird overlaid a smiling sun; the wings of the bird are extended upward over its body. In this whimsical design, the sun’s smile is created using the Coast Salish design elements of the circle and extended crescents, a unique and playful interpretation on a traditional form.
Sage Paul (b. 1995, Vancouver Island, British Columbia) is from the T'sartlip First Nation, and is one of a younger generation of recognized Coast Salish artists. She is the oldest child of artist Chris Paul and is the sibling of emerging artists Liam Paul and C̸OSINIYE Paul. She works in a contemporary Coast Salish style. In 2014 she received the Youth Scholarship Award from the Vancouver Airport YVR Art Foundation where she explored the intricacies of glass work in her design of a sandblasted glass and cedar panel.